Up Close and Personal: LB Brailyn Franklin

In the next recruiting cycle, Penn State is poised to sign two recruits from Texas, as defensive backs Isaiah Humphries and Trent Gordon have both joined the Class of 2018. A glance through the history of Nittany Lion commitments shows that they would become the first Lone Star State natives to sign with the Nittany Lions in almost a decade.

But they’re not.

In this year’s incoming freshman class, there is someone who was born and raised in Arlington. As he starts his career this summer, he brings an extensive skill set and an abundance of raw athleticism, which the defensive coaches are eager about as they work to mold him into one of the next students of Linebacker U.

Brailyn Franklin signed with Penn State in the 2017 class out of Battlefield High in Haymarket, Va. He had moved there to live with his father, Broderick, after growing up in Texas with his mother, LaTamra Sells.

It was after his sophomore season that Franklin made the decision to go to Virginia. Before that, he had played that year for Bowie High and starred as a wide receiver, cornerback and return specialist in what was his first year of high school football.

When he arrived at Battlefield, he joined a senior-laden team. At many of the skill positions, the Bobcats already had proven options returning to their spots. Leaving Texas, a place he had called home since birth, wasn’t easy, he said, but “the hardest part of all was going to a new place and trying to get my name back out there again.”

Coming up through the peewee ranks back in Arlington, Franklin was one of those kids who would line up anywhere his coaches needed him. And that didn't stop in high school.

The first position he ever played, at 6 years old, was linebacker. When he was 7, he was at center and defensive end, and the next year he played running back, tight end and linebacker. When he got to middle school, he caught passes on a full-time basis before moving to quarterback, where he was mostly an option threat who threw an occasional pass.

Franklin missed his freshman year of football due to an injury, but to stay active he ran cross country. It was just another sport in a succession of them. He also has participated in track and field since he was 5 years old, and at one point or another he was a swimmer, basketball player and a wrestler.

Franklin is a multisport athlete in the truest sense, and his experience paid dividends when he arrived at Battlefield. With so many upperclassmen ahead of him on the depth chart, he had to be willing to move to a position that even he had never played before.

“Being me, I like to play anywhere,” Franklin said. “I was like, you know what? I’d do anything to just get on the field, and that’s what I did.”

Battlefield head coach Jared Van Acker, who now calls Franklin “one of the most athletic football players I’ve ever coached,” told him that if he wanted to play, it would have to be on the defensive line, specifically, at nose guard. That’s where the legend begins.

He recorded 17 sacks that year, while 22 of his 32 total tackles went for a loss. He also batted down three passes and earned All-State honors for the first time in his career. He performed so well that once he became a senior, Van Acker decided that nose guard would remain Franklin's primary position.

Based on the opponent, the coaches would move him around to different positions, exploiting the most favorable matchup. They did the same on offense, too, with Franklin seeing time at receiver, running back and quarterback and scoring at least one touchdown from each spot.

He was a formidable prospect on offense; Kansas recruited him as a receiver. But it was on defense where he shined brightest, and not just because of his athletic advantages. As he played more positions, he developed a deeper understanding of the defense and became the eyes and ears of the coaches on the field.

“We would have basically a chemistry of where I needed to be,” Franklin said. “I would tell them what I was feeling and what was going on on the field. I would communicate to them: ‘This is what I’m seeing. This is what they’re running to an extent. This is what the offensive line is doing.’ And they would move me place to place so [the opponent] couldn’t get to me and so I could stop the offense.”

As a senior, Franklin was once again named All-State, tallying 42 tackles, 29 of which went for losses. He also had eight sacks, two blocked kicks and four forced fumbles.

Recruited to PSU by defensive coordinator Brent Pry and Sean Spencer, Franklin is hoping to continue that type of production in college.

“I have good instincts, I have sacrificed my body for the ball and to make tackles,” he said. “I play sideline to sideline and I can cover.”

Measuring 6-foot-1 and weighing 205 pounds as of late April, Franklin is set to begin his career as a linebacker. Which linebacker spot, however, remains to be seen. Throughout his recruitment, Pry compared Franklin to recently graduated linebacker Brandon Bell, and it’s possible that, like Bell, Franklin will see time at both Sam and Will before, finally, settling into a spot.